No Strainer? The Cocktail Strainer Alternative for Every Home Bar

A cocktail strainer has a simple job: let the drink through and hold back the ice, lime pulp and any bits of fruit or herbs. A shaken margarita poured straight from the tin with no strainer lands in the glass with chunks of spent ice that melt fast and water it down. That is why the strainer exists, but it is far from the only thing in a kitchen that can do the job.

This guide covers the cocktail strainer alternative that suits each kind of home bar: a tea strainer or a small kitchen sieve, a shaker with its own strainer in the cap, a perforated spoon, and a mesh lid that turns a mason jar into a shaker and strainer in one. For each we say how well it holds back ice and pulp, and where it falls short.

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Why look past a bar strainer

Most people searching for a way of straining drinks without a strainer are in one of these spots.

• You are mid-margarita. The tin is full and frosty, and there is no Hawthorne strainer in the drawer. You need something you already own.
• You make a drink now and then. A dedicated strainer is one more tool for a drawer that is already full. A sieve or tea strainer gets used every week for other jobs too.
• You don’t want separate tools at all. A shaker with a built-in strainer, or a jar with a mesh lid, keeps the whole job in one piece.

If you have decided you would rather buy the real thing, our guide to the best cocktail shaker strainer compares Hawthorne, julep and fine-mesh bar strainers. If you don’t own a shaker either, start with our cocktail shaker alternative guide, which covers what to shake in.

Quick verdict: the best cocktail strainer alternative

Five strainer stand-ins compared

All five alternatives on this page, one per kind of home bar, with the details each maker or listing states.

What a strainer does, and what can do it instead

Difford’s Guide, Simon Difford’s cocktail reference, explains the two classic bar strainers. A Hawthorne strainer, the one with a spring around its edge, is the usual choice for shaken drinks, and the spring catches ice and fruit fragments. A julep strainer is best described, in Difford’s words, as a perforated metal spoon that fits inside the mixing glass; it is less effective at catching small ice fragments than a Hawthorne. Those two descriptions tell you what a stand-in has to do: hold back ice for any drink, and hold back pulp and chips too if you want a clean, smooth margarita.

A tea strainer: the best household fix

Tasting Table’s Chris Sands points out that a fine-mesh bar strainer looks very much like a tea strainer, and says that if you lack a Hawthorne, your tea strainer will work just fine. He cites NIO Cocktails, which favors it as the replacement of choice. Hold it over the glass and pour the drink through it. The fine mesh catches pulp and ice chips as well as cubes, so a tea strainer actually gives a cleaner pour than a Hawthorne alone. The catch is size: a small strainer fills up fast, so pour slowly.

A kitchen sieve: same idea, bigger

A small mesh sieve does the tea strainer’s job with a wider bowl, which helps with a pitcher of margaritas or when a fruit drink has a lot of pulp. It is also what bartenders use for double straining, the second fine strain that catches what a Hawthorne lets through; our strainer guide explains when a margarita needs it.

The shaker’s own lid

A three-piece cobbler-style shaker has a strainer built into its cap, so there is nothing else to hold. If your shaker is a mason jar, a mesh lid does the same thing. Even a plain jar lid can work: our shaker alternative guide covers holding the flat canning lid slightly open to keep the ice back.

A slotted or perforated spoon

Since Difford describes a julep strainer as a perforated spoon, a kitchen perforated spoon held against the rim of the tin is a fair stand-in for holding back ice cubes. It will not stop pulp or small chips. It is best for stirred, spirit-only drinks, where there is no pulp to catch.

Our picks for the best cocktail strainer alternative

Five alternatives that do the job, each from an identifiable maker, all in stock on Amazon with a new offer when we checked. Two are mesh strainers made for the kitchen, one is a shaker with a strainer built in, one is a mesh lid for a jar, and one is a perforated spoon.

How to strain a margarita without a bar strainer

1. Measure. Use a jigger or measuring spoons, so the drink is balanced and you know how much is in it. Our best jigger guide covers the options.
2. Shake. Shake with plenty of ice in a sealed tin, shaker or jar. Never shake anything fizzy in a sealed container.
3. Hold back the ice. Pour through a built-in strainer, a mesh jar lid, or a tea strainer held over the glass. A perforated spoon held against the rim works for cubes.
4. Strain again if you want it smooth. For a pulp-free drink, pour through a tea strainer or small sieve as well.
5. Serve over fresh ice. The shaking ice is broken and melts fast, so leave it behind.

Steps 3 to 5 are our own kitchen sense, built on the Difford’s and Tasting Table points above. Whatever you strain, keep servings moderate, and never drink and drive.

How we chose these five stand-ins

We kept only tools that genuinely hold back ice, and said plainly which also catch pulp. For the methods we read Tasting Table’s article by Chris Sands on what to use without a cocktail strainer and Simon Difford’s explanation of Hawthorne and julep strainers at Difford’s Guide. Product facts come from the Amazon listings, and each is labeled. Every pick was in stock with a new offer from an identifiable maker, and none repeats a product from our strainer, tea strainer, fine-mesh strainer, slotted spoon or shaker guides. We searched the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall database for each brand and found no recall covering these products. We did not test these products, and we don’t state prices or ratings.

Cocktail strainer alternative questions, answered

What can I use instead of a cocktail strainer?

A tea strainer is the best household substitute; Tasting Table says it will work just fine in place of a Hawthorne. A small kitchen sieve, a shaker with a built-in strainer, a mesh jar lid or a perforated spoon held against the rim also work.

Can I use a slotted spoon to strain a cocktail?

Yes, for ice cubes. Difford’s Guide describes a julep strainer as a perforated metal spoon, and says it catches small ice fragments less well than a Hawthorne. A slotted spoon will not stop pulp.

Is a tea strainer the same as a fine-mesh cocktail strainer?

Close. Tasting Table notes that the fine-mesh bar strainer resembles a tea strainer. Bar versions are usually made to sit over a glass or tin, and a tea strainer may be smaller.

Do I need to strain a margarita at all?

If you shake it with ice, yes, or the broken shaking ice ends up in the glass and waters the drink down. A frozen, blended margarita is served as is.

Can I strain a drink through a mason jar lid?

Yes. Hold the flat lid slightly open, or swap to a mesh lid such as the EcoPeaceful lids above, which have 1 mm holes according to the listing. Shake with a solid lid first.

Our final word on straining without a strainer

Reach for a tea strainer first; it catches more than a Hawthorne does. Keep a 4-inch sieve for pitchers, add a mesh lid if you shake in a mason jar, and use a perforated spoon when nothing else is clean. When you start making drinks often, a real strainer from our cocktail shaker strainer guide is worth the drawer space, and our home margarita bar guide covers the rest of the kit.

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